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Boris Johnson is expected to fly to Iran this weekend for bilateral talks that will include seeking the release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the British charity worker jailed there.

The visit, Mr Johnson's first to Tehran, follows a small thaw in relations after the Iranian nuclear deal saw sanctions lifted against Tehran last year.

Sources in Iran confirmed Mr Johnson is expected to visit on the weekend. He is expected to meet Mohammad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister, for talks that will also cover bilateral relations, the wars in Yemen and Syria, and the future of Iranian nuclear deal.

Boris JohnsonCredit:
Stefan Rousseau

Mr Johnson said on Thursday that he would be visiting Tehran "very shortly" but declined to comment further on the case of Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a mother of one from Hampstead.

Answering a question from the Daily Telegraph after a speech on Middle East policy, Mr Johnson said: "We have some particularly difficult consular cases with Iran. It is probably most useful if we do not engage in a running commentary on what we are trying to do to resolve those cases, but they are extremely difficult."

"I think what Iran is doing in the region is an entirely separate question, but it is certainly one that I will be raising when I am going to Iran before the end of the year, very shortly," he said.

Mrs Zaghari Ratcliffe, a dual Iranian and British citizen, is expected to appear in court on Sunday to face fresh charges of spreading propaganda against the regime.

The 38-year-old project manager with the Thomson Reuters Foundation was arrested in April 2016 as she was returning to Britain from a family visit with her then one-year-old daughter.

She was initially sentenced to five years in prison after being found guilty of plotting to overthrow Iran's clerical establishment.

She denies the charges. Iran, which does not recognize foreign consular responsibility for dual nationals, has denied allegations of mistreating her.

Richard Ratcliffe, her husband, welcomed Mr Johnson's trip to Iran. "I think the foreign secretary's visit is essential - making clear that Nazanin matters," he told the Telegraph, before the exact date emerged.

Mr Johnson had previously said he would visit Iran before the end of the year.

Mr Johnson will be only the third British foreign secretary to visit Tehran since 2003.

The visit, which has been planned for some time, will be seen in Tehran as the next stage in a mutual effort to improve relations with the UK since sanctions were lifted against Iran when the international nuclear deal was signed in January 2016.

"A number of European countries are ahead of the UK in relations with Iran since the nuclear deal, including in economic relations," an Iranian official source, who declined to be named, said.

Tehran has expressed frustration that British banks have been reluctant to facilitate trade with the country since sanctions were lifted following the signing of the nuclear deal in January 2016.

Some western banks, including in London, are understood to be wary of falling foul of separate sanctions the United States kept in place despite lifting nuclear-related measures in 2016.

Talks will also touch on disagreements over regional issues such as Syria and Yemen.

"We ... think that the future of Jerusalem must be settled as part of the negotiated agreement between Israel and the Palestinians and as part of the two-state solution," he said.

"This decision, having been announced by President Trump, the world would like to see some serious announcements by the US about how they see the Middle East peace process and how to bring the two sides together."

Jared Kushner, Mr Trump's adviser and son in law, is expected to unveil proposals to move the Middle East peace process forward in the New Year.